PIQUA — Awesome Piqua, a chapter of the Awesome Foundation, has made their latest $1,000 grant donation to Piqua Central Intermediate School.

The grant comes following an application set forth by PCIS instructor Stacy Patton, and will benefit “Diversity Day” at the school on Thursday, April 4.

“My colleague, Lisa Feitshans, applied for a grant last year for ‘Math Night,’” Patton said. “She said applying was very easy, and they came out, and presented her the money. That inspired me to apply for one this year for our committee.”

Patton described the entire process from beginning to end as “super fast,” elapsing over the course of about 6-8 weeks.

The bulk of the donation will sponsor a visit from the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, who will visit for a full 45-minute performance with dance stylings from around the world.

Students and their families will receive full meals featuring a variety of international cuisine provided by local restaurants and organizations.

“We call it the ‘Celebration of Nations,’ and it’s promoting inclusivity and diversity tolerance for our district,” said PCIS instructor Veronica Gaier. “Throughout the day, representatives from different countries will travel from classroom to classroom, and will offer information to kids related to each of the different cultures.”

The Awesome Foundation is a global community made up of autonomous local chapters, who support local projects through micro-grants of $1,000. These grants are provided by the chapter’s trustees and are given on a no-strings-attached basis to groups working hard to make the community a better place.

“People may make grant applications on either the Awesome Piqua site, or the Awesome Foundation site,” said Dan French, dean of the Awesome Piqua Foundation. “We go through both as a committee every month.”

According to French, anybody is eligible to apply for a grant from Awesome Piqua, stating the group is looking for “anyone with a really neat idea that would benefit, surprise, and delight the community.”

“The goal is to give $1,000 per project, ideally once per month,” French said. “The garden project here at PCIS is something we funded a portion of last year. We’re in favor of any project that benefits Piqua, and it’s very fun to give that money away.”

For more information on grant applications, visit www.awesomepiqua.org, or www.awesomefoundation.org.